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Chemin de Fer


For its summer exhibition dedicated to its collection, the CRP/ Centre régional de la photographie in Douchy-les-Mines has invited me to come and explore the richness of the works that the art center has been conserving for over 30 years.

As we have known since its invention, photography is a matter of reproduction(s). But in recent times, as a kind of reaction to the massive circulation of images over the Internet, many photographers have been producing books that are offered as collection objects. Whether precious, intelligent, strange or narrative, each book is an exhibition in itself.
With its exploration of the CRP/’s library and collection accompanied by a selection of current artist’s books from various scenes in Europe and around the world, the exhibition Chemin de Fer is an invitation to discover the abundant world of photography books.



Is a photography book more important than an isolated, framed image hung in an exhibition? What is the value of an image printed in a book? Is there a difference between owning a book and owning an original print? What is the importance of the layout of the images? These are the questions (sometimes without answers) that unite this exhibition.





Chemin de Fer
CRP - Centre Régional de la Photographie, Douchy-les-Mines (France)
June 17 — August 13, 2017


Curated by: Thibaut de Ruyter
Architecture by: Thibaut de Ruyter (with the assistance of Cécile Dupaquier)

With books by (or about):
Morgan Alison, Nobuyoshi Araki, Marcel Aubert, Gerry Badger, Emiliano Battista, Bernd & Hilla Becher, Carolle Benitah, Sibylle Bergemann, Gilles Berquet, Joël Blondel, Dirk Braeckman, Barbara Breitenfellner, Tim Brennan, André Breton, Adam Broomberg, Michel Butor, David Campany, Christian Carez, Olivier Chanarin, Caroline Chevalier, Frank Chikane, Héloïse Colrat, Michel Couturier, Sian Davey, Jen Davis, Emmanuel De Meulemeester, Luc Delahaye, Raymond Depardon, Claude Dityvon, Céline Duval, Lisa Elmaleh, Roe Ethridge, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Arno Fischer, Jacques Fournel, Robert Frank, Elsa Frering, Hamish Fulton, Seiichi Furuya, Pierre Gac, Jean-Claude Gautrand, Agnès Geoffray, Claudio Gobbi, Ivars Gravlejs, Edward Grochowicz, Aneta Grzeszykowska, Takashi Hamaguchi, Aljocha Hamerlynck, Cig Harvey, Roswitha Hecke, Keld Helmer-Petersen, Ralph Hinterkeuser, Clément Huylenbroeck, Tamami Iinuma, Irina Ionesco, Xiangyi Jin, Ryûichi Kaneko, Wolfgang Kil, Josef Koudelka, Andreas Krase, Calin Kruse, Hyun-Jin Kwak, Edward Lachman, Sergio Larrain, Claire Laude, Dirk Lauwaert, Fanny Le Guellec, Laurence Leblanc, Christophe Leger, Elieba Levine, Richard Long, Yijun Liao, Sarah Lowie, Mïrka Lugosi, Lily Lulay, Chris Marker, André Martel, Erich Mendelsohn, Daido Moriyama, Haley Morris-Cafiero, Helmut Newton, Heather Louise O’reilly, Kumi Oguro, Jean-Pierre Parmentier, Martin Parr, Bernard Plossu, Eric Poitevin, Colette Portal, Virginie Rebetez, Georges Rodenbach, Kourtney Roy, Michael Scheffer, Michael Schmidt, Frédéric Schwalek, Michel Semeniako, Heidi Specker, Emilia Stefani-Law, Clare Strand, Thomas Struth, Galith Sultan, Kiyoshi Suzuki, Roselyne Titaud, Marc Trivier, Daan Van Golden, Michel Vanden Eeckhoudt, Julian Vanroey, Joanna Vestey, Hripsimé Visser, Renée Vivien, Laurence Von Der Weid, Ester Vonplon, Yukichi Watabe, Adriana Wattel, Tobias Zielony...

and original photographs from:
Sibylle Bergemann, Arno Fischer, Ralph Hinterkeuser, Irina Ionesco, Bernard Plossu, Marc Trivier and Michel Vanden Eeckhoudt.